Container filling machine



June 1953 J. GIALANELLA CONTAINER FILLING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledFeb. 27, 1952 INVENTORA Jase 4% fi/ahnzl/a BY Z C, I

June 3 1953 J. GIALANELLA CONTAINER FILLING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Feb. 27, 1952 "II... v.

INVENTOR. Jase 4k (fiahaella FTTdR/VEY Patented June 30, 1953 CONTAINERFILLING MACHINE Joseph Gialanella, Newark, N. J assignor of onehalf toGennaro De Rogatis,v Orange, N. J.

Application February 27, 1952, Serial No. 273,653

Claims. 1

The present invention relates to container filling machines, and, moreparticularly, to machines for filling containers with liquids, whichhave a tendency to froth or foam when agitated.

The present invention is primarily concerned with improving machines ofthe type disclosed'in United States Letters Patent No. 2,347,858, datedMay 2, 1944, and issued to W. H. Weeden. Such machines generallycomprise a liquid supply tank; a horizontal header above the supplytank; a plurality of filling heads having an-inlet in communication withthe tank, an outlet in communication with the header and nozzle meansfor communicating with the opening of a container to be filled; a pairof chambers each having its lower end in direct connection with an endof the header and'each having an outlet in communication with the tank;and means for alternately vacuumizing the chambers and connectingthem'to the atmosphere, including a check valve at each end of theheader and a control valve.

In the operation of such machines, containers are positioned against thenozzle means and the control valve is positioned to exhaust one of thechambers while connecting the other chamber to the atmosphere, wherebythe header and the containers in connection with the filling heads arevaouumized to cause liquid to be sucked into the containers from thetank while the check valve at the end of the header connected with theother chamber prevents communication between that chamber and theheader. When the containers have been filled, they are disconnected fromthe nozzle means, thereby breaking the vacuum and stopping flow of theliquid to the containers and nozzle means. The liquid in the fillingheads is then drawn into the header, where it passes through the opencheck valve, at the end of the header opposite at which the check valvehas een closed, and enters the chamber with considerable force andvelocity, causing splashing and foaming. Another batch of containers isthen positioned against the nozzle means and the filling cycle isrepeated, but this time the other chamber is vacuumized while the firstvacuumized chamber is connected with the atmosphere to permit foam andfroth to settle and to return the same together with liquid to the tank.

While many attempts have been made to reduce foaming, promote settlingof the foam and to prevent such foam from getting into the vacuum pump,machines in use at present are stillsubject to these difiiculties anddisadvan-i tages. -It will be appreciated that foam ng ill-- creases thetime of the filling cycle because of the time required for the foam tosettle, whereby the machines cannot be operated at a speed approachingtheir maximum filling capacity unless foaming is practically eliminated.Also, any foam or liquid which gets into the pump, regardless how smallthe amount for each filling cycle, eventually necessitates frequentshutdowns of the machines to enable cleaning of the pump.

I Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide machinesof the foregoing character whereinfoaming is greatly minimized andpractically eliminated.

Another object is to provide such machines wherein foam is positivelyprevented from entering the vacuum pump and frequent shutdowns forcleaning the pump are avoided.

Another object is to provide such machines wherein liquid is practicallyprevented from entering the chambers while vacuumized and any liquidtending to enter the" same is rapidly drained therefrom upon connectionof the charn bers with the atmosphere.

Another object is to provide such machines wherein special provision ismade to prevent foaming in the header;

Another object is to provide such machines whereinthe filling capacityis greatly increased by reducing'the duration of the filling cycle.

Another object is to provide such machines wherein the capacity thereofmay be enlarged by making provision for filling a greater number ofcontainers during each cycle without otherwise altering the machine.

A further object is to provide the foregoing improvements in a mannerenablingthe same to be incorporated in newly built machines or em-'bodied in existin machines.

A still further object is to accomplish the foregoing in a simple,convenient-practical and economical manner.

Other and further objects will be obvious upon an understanding of theillustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated inthe appended claims, and various advantages not resmaller bore than theheader, whereby the tendency for such large quantities of liquid toreturn into the chamber is eliminated. Other features of the machine arethat a check valve is provided in the liquid return pipe above theliquid .level of the tank, and that foaming in the hea'der'is minimizedby directing the liquid withdrawn from the filling heads alongthe'longitudinal axis of the header in a manner to prevent forcefulcontact with the walls of .the header.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a schematic elevational view, partly in section,illustrating-a container filling machine in accordance with the presentinvention.

Fig. 1a is a fragmentary view similar to @Fig. 1 in which the vacuumchamber has been eliminated.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 1, illustrating a modifiedmachine.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the connectionbetween the filling head and the header of the machines'shown in Figs. 1and 2.

Fig. 4 is aschematic view of another modified machine.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the connectionsbetween the filling heads and the header of the machine shown in Fig. 4.

Fig.6 is a schematic 'view ofanothermodified machine.

Fig. 7 is a schematic view of still another modified machine. 7

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the connectionsbetween the filling heads and the headersof the machine shown in Fig.'7.

Referring to the drawings inidetail and, more particularly to Fig. .1thereof; there is :shown a container filling machine of the typepreviously mentioned herein. 'Generallydescribed, this machine comprisesaliquidsupply tankrlfl, a-header ll, filling'headsfl (of which-.only oneiSIEShOWIl), a vacuum chamber M adjacent each :end of the header, avacuum pump 15, and connections and valving, the construction .andarrangement of which will be made apparent hereinafter.

The tank 19 is of the usual construction .having a drain'pipe [6"connected theretorin which a normally closed valve sfliis connected.

The headeris positioned substantially horizontally and is located abovethe tank, as is customary. I

The filling head I2 is of the conventional design used in connectionwith machines of the type to which the present inventionrelates, andhence need not be illustrated or described in detail. The filling headgenerally comprises nozzle means 18 for communicating with the openingof the container 19 .to be filled, vacuum production in the system forestablishing flow through the nozzle only when the container ispositioned in engagement therewith, an inlet having conduit means 20connected thereto for supplying liquid from the tank and being pro videdwith a check valve 2| at about the liquid 4 level of the tank, and anoutlet connected to the header I l by a flexible tube 22.

The vacuum chambers 14 extend upwardly above the header H but have theirbottoms slightly below the header, and are each provided with anupwardly extending pipe 24 terminating adjacent the upper end of thechambers and formed with an opening surrounded by a shield 25. The pipes24 extend to .a valve 26 connected by a pipe 21 to the vacuum pump andare constructed and arranged for alternately connecting the pipes to thevacuum pump and the atmos- .phere.

Contrary to the usual custom of directly con- .necting the .endsof theheader to the chambers,

each iendsof the header has pipe means connected thereto which includean elbow 30 attached to the end of the header, a section 3| extendindownwardly and into the tank It) having a check valve 32 connectedtherein above the tank for preventing liquid to be sucked upwardly .intothe pipemeans .and .a by-passor drain .tube 34 connecting the lower endof the chamber .and the section .3] .at a point below the bottom of thechamber.

.The elbows 310 have .a passage of a cross-sectional area slightlygreater than that of the header and have a gradually downwardly curvedwall facing the ends of the header to direct liquidfrom theheaderrdownwardly into the .section'3'l with a minimum of agitation. Asshown herein, the ends of the header are set in the elbows'30 and have aflap-type check valve 35 operable by changes in pressure, as will bedescribedhereinafter. The section-31 has a smaller bore than the headerand is adapted to conduct liquid from the elbow by gravity flow to thetank. The tube 34 has amuch smaller bore than the header and a somewhatsmaller bore than the section 3], and is so dimensioned as toefiectively vacuumize the header and to drain any liquid that may enterchamber l4.

As seen in Fig. 2, the header II and elbow 30 may be adjacent andoutside of the chamber M in order to simplify construction of such amachine; and, of course, in this latter instance the joint therebetweenwill be vacuumtight.

In operating the machine just described the container 19 is positionedagainst the nozzle l8 as shown, and the control valve 26 is positioned,also as shown, whereby air will be pumped out of the chamber 14 at theleft to produce a vacuum therein. As this chamber is evacuated, air isalso pumped out of the header by causing the flap valve 35 at the leftto open andthe flap valve at the right to close. The pipe section 3! isalso evacuated due to closing of the check valve '32. p The air 'is'alsopumped from the container 19 to produce a vacuum, the path of the airremoved from the system being from .the container to the filling head[2, to the hea'der H, to 'the elbow 30, to the section 3!, to the tube34, to the chamber [4, tothe opening of thepipe 2'4, and to the pump[-5, via open valve 26. As the container is vacuumized, the fillingheadis rendered effective to connect its inlet with the nozzle l8 andliquid is ,drawn into the container by way of the supply pipe 20.

When the container has been .filled, .it .is removed, thereby breakingthe vacuum and causing the .ball valve 21 .to close. A small amount ofliquid in the pipe -20 .is returned by gravity flow .to the tank l0 andexcess liquid trappedin the. filling head 12 .is-drawn into the header H.and into .the elbow 30 at the left.

Practically all of this liquid descends into the pipe section 3| and.only a very small portion thereof, if any at all, enters the tube 34 tobe drawn into the vacuum chamber IA. The amount of liquid that mayactually enter the \chamberis so small,that none of the samereaches theopening of the pipe 24 adjacent the shield 25, whereby entrance of suchliquid into the vacuum pump I5 is efiectively prevented.

Upon rotating the valve 26, the chamber It at the right is vacuumized,as described in connection with the chamber at the left, thereby causingthe valve at the left to be closed to vacuumize the system including thecontainers, and the chamber at the left is connected to the atmospherevia opening 26' on valve 26 to allow liquid in this chamber, its by-passtube 34 and its pipe section 3| to return by gravity past the checkvalve 32 into the tank II].

The cycle may thereafter be repeated to alternately vacuumize thechambers and condition them for permitting such froth, if formed, tosettle and for liquid to return to the tank.

In Fig. 2, a modified machine is partially illustrated, which machine isessentially the same as the machine shown in Fig. 1, except that thevacuum chambers have a much smaller volume and are comparatively shortand that the valves 35 may be eliminated. By reason of the indirectconnection between the header and the vacuum chambers, so little liquidor froth enters these chambers that they need not be of great height toprevent rising froth from entering the pipes 24.

In Fig. 2 also, the header II may be adjacent to chamber I I instead ofpassing through it. (In fact, chamber I 4 and pipe 34 may be eliminatedby connecting the vacuum via pipe 24 directly to the elbow 30, as seenin Fig. 1a; but the flap valves 35 must be then included in the header II).

In 3, a preferred arrangement is illustrated for connecting the conduit22 to the header II wherein a tube ll) extends horizontally into theheader and has a section M formed with an outlet 42 at the end thereoffacing in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the header anddisposed therein. It has been found that this arrangement furtherreduces foaming or frothing because liquid entering the header is notdirected perpendicularly against the inner wall thereof in a mannerwhich would cause splashing but is directed lengthwise .along the headerand has an opportunity to settle as it flows towards the elbows 30 atthe ends of the header.

In Fig. 4, a machine in accordance with the invention is illustratedschematically, which is essentially like the machine shown in Fig. 2,but has a plurality of filling heads I2 connected to the header. Apreferred manner of connecting the conduits 22 of this machine to theheader is shown in Fig. 5, wherein the sections II of the tubes at theleft and right of the header respectively face left and right to balancethe flow of fluid in the header.

Another modification of the present invention is shown schematically inFig. 6, wherein an auxiliary header or filler tube is connected to themain header II by a pair of pipes 5i and to the supply tank II) by apipe 52; while filling heads I2 are connected to the tank I ll by pipes20 and to the header 50 by conduits 22. This arrangement illustrates howthe capacity of an existing machine may be enlarged,

6 simply by providing a second'header to which an additional bank offilling heads can be connected. This is made possible by the effectiveand rapid operation of machines embodying the present invention, wherebywith a vacuum pump of a given size a greater number of containers can befilled simultaneously.

In Fig. 7,'still another modified machine is shown schematically,wherein an anti-foam tube 6! is connected by a pair of pipes 6! to theheader II and has a pipe 62 leading therefrom to the tank It. Thetube6!) is parallel to and preferably in the same horizontal plane as headerII and serves to collect a predetermined amount of the total excessliquid and returns thesame to the tank without all of the liquid passingthrough the header ends shown in Fig. 1. This arrangement therebyreduces the amount of liquid or froth which possibly could enter thevacuum chambers and even more reliably assures that no liquid will getinto the vacuum pump. The arrangement primarily redues the velocity ofthe liquid being returned to the supply tank by distributing the liquidbetween the header and tube 60. Since foaming is a function of liquidvelocity, it is practically eliminated. This arrangement also increasesthe amount of liquid that can be handled and returned per filling cycleto the supply tank and,

' velocity of liquid being returned would be approximately one-fourth ofthat if all the liquid were returned to the single header, as is th casein existing machines.

If desired, one filling head (or more) may be connected to the header I!and one filling head (or more) may be connected to the anti-foam tubeSQ, so that the tube acts as a trap for the header. A preferredarrangement for connecting the conduits 22 with the header I I and tube69 is illustrated in Fig. 8, this arrangement being essentially inaccordance with that described in connection with Figs. 3 and 5.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the presentinvention provides a simple, practical and economical filling machinewhich embodies improvements to reduce frothing and foaming and theirattendant disadvantages and to increase the capacity of the mav chine.These improvements can be readily applied to newly constructed orexisting machines to attain the benefits of the present invention.

In general this invention reduces foaming by (a) reducing the velocityof the liquid being returned, (22) streamlining the liquid flow byLoreventing splashing and striking any surface at right angles. Thisinvention increases production by (a) elimination of foam, (2))elimination of shut down due to liquid getting into the vacuum pump, (0)shorter operating cycles, and (d) greater capacity for handling theliquid.

As various arrangements may be made in the form, construction andarrangements of the parts herein, without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, itis to be understood that all matters are to be interpreted asillustrative and not in any limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

In a container filling machine of the class described, the combinationof a liquid supply tank; a *substantially -horizontal header above saidtank; a: filling. heaidiha-vingan inlet,:an outlet and meansfor-communicatingwith'the 'opening Of-"a container tobefilled; conduitmeans for supplying-liquid from saidatank to saidinlet; a flowcommunicating a-connection between said outlet and said header;fpipe:means connected to said header includingavdownwardly extendingsection in communication with said tank; a chamber above said supplytank havingits. upper end above csaid header; vacuum. producing means;means for establishing communication between :saidvacuinn producingmeans=andithe upper-:end of saidrchamber; and a tubeconnecting-theilower end-of saidzcham-ber. and said pipe means sectionatsaipointbelow'the:bottom--ofssaid chamber.

2. A filling machine according to claim 1, wherein said conduit meansis:provided with a check valve for preventing return of liquid to saidsupply tank.

3. A filling "machine :according "to "claim '1, wherein said: pipe meanssection is: provided with a check valve at a point above theliquid levelof said supply :tank. ior'preventing :the'fiow' of :liquid from saidtankto said tube.

4. A filling machine according *to claim '1, wherein a-checkvalveisprovided 'forpreventing communication between-said header andsaid tube.

5. A filling .machine according to claim 1, whereinsaid pipe meansincludes an elbow connecting said header and said downwardly extendingsection.

--6. A filling machine according to claim 5, wherein'the end of-saidelbow .connected tosaid header corresponds in diameter to said header,the end of said elbow connectedto said section corresponds'indiameter'tosaid section, and said section has a smaller diameter "thansaid header.

7. A filling machine according to claim 6, wherein said tube has asmaller diameter than said section.

SVA filling machine according 'to claim 1, wherein said flowcommunicating connection between said filling head-outlet andsaid headerincludes a tubular section extending horizontally into said header andoutlet means for said tubular section facing in the direction of thelongitudinal axis of said header.

9.'A filling -machine according to claim 8, Wherein'said outlet meansincludes a tubular section formed with an outlet at the end thereof anddisposed in alignment with the longitudinal axis of said header.

10. in a container filling-machine of the class described, thecombination of a liquid supply tank; a substantially horizontal headerabove said tank; a filling-head having an inlet, azoutletand means forcommunicatingwith the opening-of a containertobefilled; conduit means.for

8 supplying liquid from said supply. tank to said inlet a flowcommunicating connection between said *outlet and said header; -'pipe.means connected to each-end of said header including a downwardlyextending section in communication with said supply tank; achamberadjacent each :end 1 of 1 said header each positioned above saidtank and'ea-ch having its upper end above said header; vacuum producingmeans; means for selectively establishing communication between theupper ends of .said respective chamber andsaid vacuum producing meansand alternatively connecting said chambers to the atmosphere; and atubeconnecting thelower end of each of said chambers and itssaid pipemeans section at a point .below the bottom of said chamber.

'11. Afilling machine according to claim 10, wherein saidconduit meansis provided with .a check valve for preventing returnof liquid to saidsupplytank, each of said pipe means sectionsis provided .withacheckvalve at a point between the liquid levelofsaid tank and its said.tube, and acheck valve is provided-between each end ofsaid. headerandthe point at whichsaid tube is connected to its pipe means section forpreventing communication between one end of said header and said chamberadjacent thereto while said other chamber isin connection with saidvacuum producingmeans.

.12. A.filling machine according to claim 10, wherein. each otsaidpipemeans includes an-elbow connectingthe respective ends of saidheader andits downwardly extending section.

.13. -A.filling .machine according .to claim 10, wherein aplurality ofsaid filling heads are provided andsaidflow communicating connectionbetween. each: of. saidfilling. head outlets and said header: includesatubular section extendinghorizontally into saidheader and outlet meansfor said tubular section facing in the direction of the longitudinal.axis of said .head and theend o'fsaid head nearest thereto.

14..A.filling..machine according .to claim .10, wherein a pair ofv saidfillingheads are provided, an anxiliarysubstantially horizontallydisposed header in flow connection with .said first mentioned .header-is positioned above said supply tank, said outlet of one'of saidfilling headsbeing in connection with said first mentionedheader,.and.said outlet of said other filling head being iniconneetionwithsaid auxiliary header.

15. A filling machine according to claim 14, wherein .said auxiliaryheader is positioned between said .firstmentioned header and said supplytank, and a conduit connected to said auxiliaryheader. is.incommunication with said supply tank.

JOSEPH GIALANELLA.

No references cited.

